The Den of Shadows Quartet - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [52]
“What do I want to do about it?” he mused aloud.
Jessica gasped as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her forward to close the few remaining inches between them. Before she could react, he caught her lips with his own. The kiss was strong but over quickly, and then he willed himself away.
CHAPTER 20
JESSICA STOOD STUNNED for a few minutes after Aubrey had disappeared; then she flopped back against a tree and tried to make sense of the world.
She had thought she was facing death tonight. She had resolved to face it unflinchingly. Instead …
The scene replayed in her mind, frame by frame. The stillness while she had waited for Aubrey to answer her challenge. The vision of him standing there like a creature formed from the very breath of night.
Finally there had been the brief sensation of his lips on hers, over before she could respond, but potent enough to make every thought in her mind lose its cohesiveness.
If he had simply killed her, she would have understood. But this … this she could not explain.
The night air did nothing to cool her thoughts as she headed home, finally slipping into the house at nearly one in the morning.
Sleep eluded her, so she paced in her room for nearly an hour before turning on the computer with the hope of losing herself in her writing. Sometime shortly before sunrise, exhaustion finally claimed her restless mind. She dreamed.
For a few moments, Jazlyn didn’t know what had happened or who she was. She had vague memories of meeting a witch who called herself Monica Smoke, a witch who offered to give her back her hard-lost humanity.
But why had the witch made this offer? Why had Jazlyn accepted? Everything was so faint in her mind. Monica had been afraid to even speak to Jazlyn. Why had she given back the life that Jazlyn had willingly tossed away?
Jazlyn’s mind drifted back to the night she had died.
She had known for years the black-haired, green-eyed creature who called himself Siete, and she had been offered immortality often. She had refused every time. After all, she was twenty-five, she had a husband, and life was perfect.
Siete had twice changed humans against their wills, and both times the result had been disastrous, so he accepted Jazlyn’s refusals with good grace.
Then everything had changed. Carl, the love of her life, her husband for three years, was hit by a drunk driver. He died in a hospital bed while she wept in the waiting room.
Her parents had both passed away several years before, and her friends were few and far between. There was no shoulder she could cry on. The only one who was there for her was the immortal Siete.
She still said no. Immortality was not what she wanted. Immortality without Carl was meaningless. She wanted only to be left alone and given time to grieve. Even this was denied her —
A knock on the door woke Jessica.
She lifted her head from the desktop and rubbed her eyes as she heard Anne call her name. According to Jessica’s computer, it was now just past ten in the morning.
Sleeping at her desk for five hours had left her with some kinks in her neck. She stood and stretched, then shut down her computer and opened the door to answer Anne.
Anne, wearing her Sunday best, had been about to knock on Jessica’s door again.
Are you running early or is my clock wrong?” Jessica asked, confused as to why Anne was all dressed up for church when she didn’t need to leave for another hour.
“I told Hasana Rashida I’d meet up with her for a coffee before the service,” Anne explained. “Hasana is your friend Caryn’s mother. Have you met her?”
Jessica nodded once and managed not to add anything that might offend Anne.
“Caryn will be with us, if you’d like to come,” Anne added hopefully. She offered the invitation every week, though Jessica never accepted.
Part of Jessica’s dream gnawed at her: Monica Smoke. If anyone would know about Jazlyn, Monica’s relatives would.
However, she had no desire to make small talk with Caryn and Hasana, so she declined the offer, deciding instead to speak with